The Red Sox face many difficult decisions in the offseason, but David Ortiz is not one of them.

He wants a year tacked on to his contract. Just do it, Ben Cherington. Just pay the man.

Ortiz's remarks were not a shot across the bow or a warning. They seemed more in line with the current love-in relationship between a player and a team who share a desire to ride into the sunset together.

When Big Papi speaks on such matters, though, he usually doesn't say it once and then drop the subject.

Ortiz turned 38 on Nov. 18. His contract expires after the 2014 season.

At the time, Ortiz was considered the big winner. The new contract was signed when Big Papi was hobbling around on a sore heel that cost him 72 games of the 2012 season.

There was no assurance Ortiz would be healthy in time for the 2013 season, and in fact, he wasn't. His return date kept getting delayed in spring training until the Red Sox stopped even talking about a specific date.

Ortiz missed the first three weeks, then returned after the Boston Marathon bombings. Mixing profanity with power, he lifted the spirits of his city and his team.

He went on to play 137 games, quite a bit more than anyone had expected. There were 30 home runs, 38 doubles, 103 RBIs, a .309 average and a World Series for the ages.

No longer is the current contract considered a payback for past favors. Ortiz now looks like a bargain, a $15 million player who practically carried the Red Sox offense to the World Series title on his shoulders.

He hit .688 in the Series, which came after his Game 2 grand slam in the American League Championship Series had turned a developing series defeat into victory.

If the Globe report is true, Ortiz would like the club to put aside the agreement to wait. There is a word for this: reneging.

But the Red Sox have to do it. And what's more, they really shouldn't mind.

Wouldn't they want to know Ortiz will be back in 2015?

Yes, he will be 39. Yes, a major injury this year would stick the Red Sox with another year at the end of a career that everyone wants to see reach a graceful and natural end.

And yes, it sounds as if Ortiz is diplomatically asking the team to forget the non-negotiation pact that made sense when it was made.

It allowed the Red Sox to give him a fine deal, knowing they would not have to deal with him for two years.

It allowed Big Papi to accept that deal with the understanding that if the next round of talks was delayed, it was not a sign of disrespect, only a matter of agreed procedure.

The Red Sox avoid negotiating in-season. Ortiz would like to negotiate before the season starts.

The club could stand on principle or common sense and say no. It's not worth it.

The Red Sox are everybody's darlings again, in large part because of Ortiz.

His 2013 season was strong evidence that he has some good baseball left. Every rule has its exceptions.

Ortiz is that exception in Boston. The Red Sox should sign him for the extra year, now.